Ramnes is a former municipality in

Vestfold Vestfold () is a county and a current electoral district in Norway. Located on the western shore of the Oslofjord, it borders Buskerud and Telemark counties. The county administration is located in Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, and the larg ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2002. The area is now part of

Tønsberg Municipality Tønsberg () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Jarlsberg. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tønsberg, ...

. The

administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune, is located. In countries with French as the administrative language, such as Belgi ...

was the village of

Ramnes Ramnes is a village in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The village is located about to the northwest of the city of Tønsberg, about to the northwest of the village of Linnestad, about to the southwest of the villages of ...

(sometimes called ''Tingvoll''). Other villages in Ramnes included Vivestad, Fon, Bergsåsen, and Linnestad.

General information

The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Ramnes was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see

formannskapsdistrikt () was the name of a Norwegian self-governing municipality. The name was used from the establishment these municipalities in 1838 until the name fell out of use in 1863. The municipalities had their legal basis from two laws enacted on 14 Jan ...

law). On 16 July 1873, a royal resolution approved transferring an uninhabited area of Vaale Municipality to the neighboring Ramnes Municipality. On 1 January 2002, Ramnes Municipality was merged with the neighboring

Våle Municipality Våle is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 2002. The area is now part of Tønsberg Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Kirkevoll (it was at Sø ...

to form the new

Re Municipality Re is a former municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. The municipality existed from 2000 until its dissolution in 2020. The area is now part of Tønsberg Municipality. The administrative centre was the village of Revetal. Other villages in t ...

. Re Municipality became part of

on 1 January 2020.

Name

The municipality (originally the

) is named after the old ''

'' farm () since the first

Ramnes Church Ramnes Church () is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ramnes. It is the church for the Ramnes parish which is part of the Tønsberg domprosti (deanery) in ...

was built there. The first element is which means "

raven A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus '' Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between crows and ravens; the two names are assigne ...

". The last element is which means "

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

", which is likely referring to the area between two rivers.

Coat of arms

The

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was granted on 30 January 1976. The official

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

is ''"

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

, a

passant wings elevated

sable The sable (''Martes zibellina'') is a species of marten, a small omnivorous mammal primarily inhabiting the forest environments of Russia, from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, and northern Mongolia. Its habitat also borders eastern Kaz ...

"'' (). This means the arms have a

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

(background) has a

tincture A tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Solvent concentrations of 25–60% are common, but may run as high as 90%.Groot Handboek Geneeskrachtige Planten by Geert Verhelst In chemistr ...

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

which means it is commonly colored white, but if it is made out of metal, then silver is used. The

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

is a

passant with its wings elevated. They are

canting arms Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing). French heralds used the term (), ...

since the name of the municipality is derived from the word "raven". The arms were designed by Sven Sköld. The municipal flag has the same design as the coat of arms.

Churches

The

Church of Norway The Church of Norway (, , , ) is an Lutheranism, evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. Christianity became the state religion of Norway around 1020, and was established a ...

had three parishes () within the municipality of Ramnes. It is part of the

Nord-Jarlsberg prosti This list of churches in Tunsberg is a list of the Church of Norway churches in the Diocese of Tunsberg in Norway. It includes all of the parishes in Buskerud and Vestfold counties. The diocese is based at the Tønsberg Cathedral in the city of T� ...

(

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

) in the

Diocese of Tunsberg Tunsberg is a diocese of the Church of Norway. It includes all of the parishes located within the counties of Vestfold and Buskerud, with the cathedral located in the city of Tønsberg. The Diocese of Tunsberg consists of the cathedral deanery and ...

Government

Ramnes Municipality was responsible for

primary education Primary education is the first stage of Education, formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary education. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first schools and middle s ...

(through 10th grade), outpatient

health services Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

senior citizen Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...

services,

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

zoning In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...

economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...

, and municipal

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s. During its existence, this municipality was governed by a

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough cou ...

of directly elected representatives. The

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

was

indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...

by a vote of the municipal council. The municipality was under the jurisdiction of the Horten District Court and the

Agder Court of Appeal The Agder Court of Appeal () is one of six courts of appeal in the Kingdom of Norway. The Court is located in the town of Skien. The court has jurisdiction over the counties of Vestfold og Telemark and Agder (except for Sirdal Municipality which ...

Mayors

The

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

() of Ramnes: *1838–1839: Tønnes Taralsen *1840–1843: Georg Taylor Faye *1844–1849: Frederik Ingier *1850–1851: Hans Morten Thrane Esmark *1852–1855: Hans A. Holdt *1856–1863: Hans Moss *1864–1865: Jørgen Forum *1866–1869: Christen Hansen Ramnæs *1870–1877: Ole Larsen Ramnæs *1878–1887: Hans Knudsen Horn *1888–1893: Karl M. Linnestad *1894–1898: Even Flaatten *1899–1913: Øystein Gåsland *1914–1920: Anders H. Teien *1920–1931: Hans Flåtten ( Sp) *1932–1934: Lars J. Bjune *1935–1937: Thorvald O. Vivestad *1938–1940: Ole M. Gran ( Sp) *1945-1945: Ole M. Gran ( Sp) *1946–1947: Asbjørn Sviland ( Sp) *1948–1951: Johan Borge ( Sp) *1952–1967: Lars Melbostad ( Sp) *1968–1987: Torstein Håland ( Sp) *1988–1993: Eva Lian ( Sp) *1993–1995: Johan Christian Haugen ( Sp) *1995–1999: Aasta Kari Holm ( Sp)

Municipal council

The

of Ramnes was made up of 25 representatives that were elected to four year terms. The tables below show the historical composition of the council by political

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...

Geography

The landscape of Ramnes is dominated by the wide valleys of the river Aulielva. Around the village of

, the valley widens out into a large, cultivated plain known as ''Ramnessletta''. Between the larger and smaller valley which generally run north-south are low, wooded hills. The hills are sparely covered with grass and trees, exposing weathered soil. The valleys are filled with a rich clay that is used for agriculture.

References

{{use dmy dates, date=December 2023 Tønsberg Former municipalities of Norway 1838 establishments in Norway 2002 disestablishments in Norway Populated places established in 1838 Populated places disestablished in 2002